


Keeping Up Appearances

by Kaytla



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-28
Updated: 2014-07-29
Packaged: 2018-01-14 02:16:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1249012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaytla/pseuds/Kaytla
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sesshomaru is facing huge crises at home and at school, with no way to keep himself afloat on his own. Is relying on an immoral, cheating hanyou the only way to keep his head above water?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One

Sesshomaru sat woodenly in the chair opposite his science teacher's desk. The man - a rake thin ningen of advancing years and retreating hairline - was watching him with concern through his wire-rim spectacles, making Sesshomaru increasingly uncomfortable.

"Are you sure nothing is going on at home?" the man asked again.

"Yes, sir. Everything is fine," Sesshomaru repeated, forcing himself to be calm. This was the last thing he needed...

The man - Mr. Simmons - leaned forward against his desk, expression sympathetic and encouraging, trying, Sesshomaru assumed, to get him to open up with his over-projection of support.

"I've been noticing for a while some... worrying behaviour," Simmons continued. "You constantly seem distracted during class, and your participation has all but ceased entirely. It's a stark change from your usual attitude. Until recently, I can't remember a single class where you didn't have all the answers."

Mr. Simmons sighed, picking up a small pile of papers stapled together, glancing at the front. Sesshomaru shifted uncomfortably.

"And then this." Mr. Simmons laid the paper out in front of Sesshomaru, and the youkai looked at it, trying his best to keep from cringing.

"This test should not have been difficult for someone of your calibre, Sesshomaru, and yet you scored a B plus. I'm not strictly meant to share the test scores of other students, but this time, you had the same score as Inuyasha. I know Mr. Takahashi always has..." Simmons paused, and Sesshomaru felt certain he was omitting a word such as 'suspiciously'. "He always has good grades, but he's never been a straight A student such as yourself."

Sesshomaru resisted the urge to squirm. He knew he was slipping, but pointing it out to him - and using that _fool_ as a comparison - was making him increasingly agitated. He wanted to get out of here. And besides, he was running late.

"You understand why this concerns me and several other members of faculty, don't you? You're one of our brightest stars, Sesshomaru, and we would all hate to see you fall. If there's anything we might be able to help you with, or at least point you in the direction of someone who can, we wouldn't hesitate."

"Yes, sir," he said again.

The man looked at him for a long, silent moment before relenting. "Very well. If you're sure there's nothing... bothering you, you may go." They both stood, and Mr. Simmons escorted Sesshomaru to the door. "But if you change your mind, I'm available any time."

"Thank you, sir," Sesshomaru murmured, eyeing freedom with anticipation. "I'll keep that in mind."

Sesshomaru made his escape and felt like he could breathe again. Though he was still late, the science labs were fortunately quite near to the lockers, and he made it there in good time. However, when he got there, he was met by someone whose name was synonymous with delay: Kagura Onigumo.

The second she saw him, she broke off from her group of waspish friends and strode over to him, linking their arms together and leaning her head on his shoulder. Despite how he still attempted to open his locker and retrieve what he needed, she continued to hang on.

Smiling and laying her free hand on his chest, she peered up at him. "So I was thinking..." she began, "maybe we could take a drive after school... just the two of us. And maybe we'd end up somewhere quiet... and isolated... you know?"

Yes, he knew. He knew exactly what she was getting at, and found he wasn't the least bit interested. Too much on his mind, too little time to spend with her. Besides, it wasn't like he could just drive anywhere these days. Still, one didn't give one's girlfriend such a pathetic excuse, so lying was the only solution.

"I'm sorry, Kagura. I can't. There's somewhere I need to be."

Her smile vanished instantly, and the red eyes that looked up at him hardened a little. She was a determined girl, and one who didn't take kindly to being denied. And she liked control. There were usually consequences to spoiling it for her. Not that he could find the energy to care right now.

"Where?"

"It's a family event," he lied smoothly as he put study materials in his messenger bag. "I've already tried to get out of it without success. We'll have to wait until another time."

Her painted lips pursed into a pout. "Fine," Kagura finally relented, but he could tell she wasn't happy about having to change her plans. "But make sure you call me. You forgot last night."

Another annoyance, but he let it slide. "Of course."

He then suffered through a kiss, all the while resisting the urge to look at his watch over her shoulder, and finally, he was free, though running far too late for his liking. He wasn't even able to run to his car because other students were about (and what would they think of that?) and it would doubtless be a hot topic of discussion by the time he arrived at school tomorrow.

He shoved his bag in the back of the shiny, overpriced silver Lexus and climbed in, carefully navigating his way out of the car park and starting the drive home.

\---

An hour later, he settled himself in a seat by the window of a city bus, only to immediately be boxed in by a ragged ningen who smelled like stale alcohol and failure. He managed to stop himself wrinkling his nose in disgust and turned to look out the window, trying to block everything out.

He hated riding the bus. People spoke too loudly, seemingly always trying to drown each other out, and inevitably a child would start screaming somewhere along the journey. If he was particularly unlucky, they would set each other off in a chain reaction of misery and piercing noise until he wanted to shout at the incompetent mothers to take their shrieking offspring off the bus and restore peace.

And if it wasn't the noise that got to him, the stink gave him the last push over the edge. With a youkai's nose, he was able to smell every layer of body odour and filth, old and new, and it not only made him feel ill, but it usually succeeded in giving him a headache as well. And that was the last thing he needed when on his way to a job he already despised.

He wished he could drive there, but his car cost an absolute fortune to run and he hated the idea of unnecessary travel. And if he was wishing, it would be better spent on wishing he had no reason to travel to a job at all.

He blamed his father. Certainly his mother did all she could to make it worse, but his father was the root of it all. They'd never been a close family, and he knew it well, but what had given him the right to leave them out of the blue for a mistress and their secret family he'd never met and hadn't even known existed? Worse yet, he'd sneakily emptied all the accounts, leaving his old family with barely anything to get by. Then he'd just disappeared.

His mother still told people he was away on business. She seemed to be living in a state of complete denial, waiting for when things would magically fix themselves again. She squandered what little cash they had on maintaining her lifestyle while she hoped to land a new rich husband to keep her satisfied and well supplied with riches and luxuries.

He couldn't help but feel the hypocrisy there. After all, wasn't he doing the same thing? He still drove his expensive car to and from school instead of selling it. He kept his fine clothes, the other gadgets and luxuries he didn't expressly need. He never put all his effort into arguing over selling the house. He hadn't even told his teachers he was working and thus finding it difficult to study, so he hadn't even been able to ask for leniency or help keeping up.

Despite this, he was more pragmatic than his mother and knew their problems wouldn't be solved easily. He'd taken it upon himself to get not one job, but two. After all, his school was private and there was a fee due at the beginning of each term. What they had now likely wouldn't cover it with the way his mother insisted on acting. And besides, he still had college to think about. How would he afford his tuition like this? He had no idea.

He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead on the window, sighing softy. Tuition fees wouldn't even matter if he didn't somehow keep his grades up. If they continued to fall so rapidly, he wouldn't be able to get into college anyway. He seemed to be stuck in a lose-lose situation. If he quit his jobs, he wouldn't be able to afford school. If he kept working, he'd have no time to study and would end up failing, making working pointless.

What he needed was some kind of balance. He needed to find some way, some schedule, to even things out so he could save himself and not fall behind Inuyasha Takahashi's scores as his teacher had alluded to earlier.

Suddenly, Sesshomaru's eyes snapped open and he sat up straight in his seat, the noise and smells of the bus forgotten. That was it. _Inuyasha_. That foul hanyou was the answer to all his problems.

It was common knowledge Inuyasha cheated to stay ahead. The rumour that floated around claimed he'd been threatened with being cut off from his family's fortune if he didn't work hard and get into college, but instead of putting in that work himself, he was "allegedly" paying someone else to do it for him. Everyone knew it was the truth, even the teachers, but no one had ever been able to prove that he'd done anything wrong.

That was what Sesshomaru needed. If he could just find out how Inuyasha was getting the answers to test questions and use it himself, he'd have one less thing to worry about. He could focus on working and saving every penny he could without stressing himself out over his grades. He might even be able to get another job if he could fit it in around his current schedule...

First, though, he had to convince Inuyasha to tell him what he wanted to know. And since the hanyou was extremely guarded and seemed to trust no one besides two friends (who didn't even attend their school), he suspected that would be quite the challenge.

Still, there was no match for Sesshomaru's will and determination. If his future hung in the balance, he would see it done, one way or another.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, as Inuyasha strolled out of the building during their lunch break, Sesshomaru was ready. He caught the hanyou's arm and, ignoring protests, dragged him around to a little-used and shadowed side of the building. He glanced behind them and nodded to himself, satisfied; it seemed no one had seen them.

He allowed Inuyasha to shake off his arm and straighten his clothes, though Sesshomaru didn't see why he bothered. The hanyou was scruffy at best; there was a grass stain on one of his knees, his shirt had the two top buttons undone, and his tie was nowhere to be seen, apparently suffering the same fate as his jacket. Not for the first time, he wondered why Inuyasha was in their school when he couldn't even follow the dress code, let alone keep up with the curriculum.

He refrained from asking, however, when he noticed Inuyasha was already glaring at him. He needed this conversation to be at least civil if he hoped to get his answers.

Straight to business, then. When Inuyasha opened his mouth, Sesshomaru overrode him.

"I want to know how you're cheating on the tests," he said without preamble

He had to admire the hanyou's composure. Inuyasha's expression didn't so much as flicker. But being a gifted liar didn't impress Sesshomaru much.

Slowly, Inuyasha's eyebows rose. "And who says I am?"

"I have no intention of turning you in," Sesshomaru said, impatience building within him. He had no time to play these games. "I simply need to know how you're doing it."

Inuyasha held up a hand. "Hold on a minute. You want to know how to cheat at tests?" he asked incredulously. "The big brainiac? Mr. Perfect Score?"

Sesshomaru bit the inside of his mouth and counted to three. "Yes." Somehow, he managed to sound fairly calm. "So tell me. Then this can be over and we can both walk away pretending it didn't happen."

The hanyou put his hands in his pockets and leaned a shoulder against the wall. He looked at Sesshomaru for a long while, and then a smile started to curve his lips. Sesshomaru immediately hated it; he had a bad feeling about it.

"What's it worth to you?"

Sesshomaru gritted his teeth. Yet again, his instincts were correct. But there was little he could do if Inuyasha decided to go down this road. "What do you want?" he asked icily, voice tight.

Inuyasha's smile only widened. "I dunno yet," he replied reasonably. "Dunno what I could get for it, do I?"

Damn the miserable half-breed, he had no time or patience for this! Resisting the urge to grind his teeth, he settled for glaring daggers at his classmate instead.

"Then how about you tell me and we leave it as an outstanding debt?"

Inuyasha pursed his lips, mock considering. Mock, Sesshomaru was certain, because the hanyou's amber eyes were practically shining with mischief. For whatever reason, Inuyasha was enjoying this.

"We could..." the hanyou said. "But how do I know you'll pay?" Then his eyes sharpened a bit. "And how do I know this isn't some kind of set-up by the teacher's pet? If it is, it's a stupid one. Did you think I'd just spill my guts like that? Get real, man."

Now Sesshomaru did gnash his teeth. Leave it to Inuyasha to show an inkling of intelligence when it was least welcome. He was forever frustrating and contrary.

"You don't know it isn't," Sesshomaru snapped. "You'll just have to trust me."

Inuyasha made a 'hmm' noise, then shook his head. "Nope, 'fraid that doesn't really work for me. I've been less than dirt to you from the moment we met. Why the hell would I trust you?"

Damn it all, but Inuyasha had a point. If the roles were reversed, he wouldn't trust the hanyou, either. But his future was riding on this. He supposed that meant... he had to take the first step.

"Fine," he said, giving in. "Fine. If I tell you the reason I need this information, which will _never_ be repeated again, will you tell me?"

Inuyasha must have seen something in his expression or heard it in his voice, because his eyebrows drew together and he nodded slowly. "All right, I'll hear you out. And if the reason's good enough... I'll tell you."

Sesshomaru looked around again, checking to see if anyone might be eavesdropping; he couldn't help it. Satisfied they were alone, he turned back to Inuyasha, ignoring the hanyou's raised eyebrow.

"I'm having difficulty keeping up," he said, as quickly and as flatly as possible. "I'm dealing with personal problems that are extremely distracting and take up much of my time, leaving me with precious little time to study. I simply need to keep my grades up until things even out, that is all. I don't want to fall behind and risk not being able to catch up."

Inuyasha watched him for a long moment, as though trying to decide whether to believe him or not. In spite of himself, Sesshomaru felt himself growing tense; he needed the hanyou's cooperation here...

"Really?" the hanyou finally said. "You're falling behind? I figured you kinda just... knew all the answers. You always get perfect scores on everything."

"No. I simply allocate adequate time to study at home and make sure to pay attenton during class." Or he had, at least, before all his time had been funnelled into earning money and he'd been too tired to study or even pay proper attention at school anymore.

"Well... learn something new every day, right?" Inuyasha fell into another of the silent stares Sesshomaru was starting to recognise as a normal occurrence when the hanyou thought things through. He searched deep for the patience to wait it out.

"All right," Inuyasha finally said. "I'll let you in on my secret. I know you said had personal shit going on, but when can you make free time after school?"

Tomorrow, he was working a later shift. He'd hoped to get in a bit of study before he went in, but getting this information would be a better use of his time. "I can meet you at around three-thirty tomorrow. But why can't you just tell me now and be done with it?"

"Can't very well talk about that kind of thing at school, can I?"

"Very well," Sesshomaru sighed. "Where should I meet you?"

"I'll give you the address, hold on..." The hanyou began patting random pockets about his person until he finally came up with a thoroughly chewed pen and a scrap of paper that looked like it might have been a homework assignment at one point.

Inuyasha pressed said scrap against the wall, then shook the pen violently and hastily scribbled the address before gravity affected the inkflow. He handed it to Sesshomaru, who took it dubiously.

"So I'll see you there tomorrow, yeah?"

"Yes," Sesshomaru confirmed. "Tomorrow."

That arranged, he turned on his heel and strode swiftly in the direction of the library. Much of his at school study time had been lost, but if he acted quickly, he could still make some headway. That thought in mind, he quickened his pace, disappearing into the school building without even a backwards glance.

\---

At precisely three-twenty-seven the following day, Sesshomaru got off the bus a block away from the address Inuyasha had provided. Said address led him to an apartment building.

He looked up at it, wondering. Was this where Inuyasha and his family lived? He'd been under the impression they were significantly more wealthy; how else, then, would they afford to send Inuyasha to such an expensive private school?

He supposed all their spare funds were being put into giving their son the best education they could buy. It might even be a better explanation of why Inuyasha resorted to cheating to get good grades. If he knew his parents were putting everything into this, the pressure to succeed must be immense.

Sesshomaru shook off the thought before he started feeling sympathetic. He wanted to keep this business as simple as possible.

He stepped up to the door and pressed the buzzer labelled "I. Takahashi". A brief pause, then there was a quiet click.

"Yeah?" came Inuyasha's voice through the intercom.

"It's Sesshomaru," he replied, frowning slightly at the hanyou's lack of manners.

"Right, yeah. Come on up." Another click, then a prolonged buzz. Sesshomaru tugged the door open and went inside, looking around. The lobby was neat and well-ordered, neither rich nor shabby.

Sesshomaru crossed the carpeted floor to the elevator. The note Inuyasha had scribbled for him earlier had indicated the fifth floor, and he rode up in silence and without any unplanned stops, for which he was glad; he wanted to spend as little time here as possible.

When he reached his level, Inuyasha was leaning against his door. He wore a tight black T-shirt with what Sesshomaru assumed was a faded band logo across his chest and battered blue jeans with a hole over one knee. Once again, Sesshomaru was utterly mystified as to how Inuyasha got in to a prestigious school such as theirs; though money was a powerful tool, there was only so much leniency and discretion it could buy.

The hanyou checked the watch on his wrist. "Punctual, as always. I suppose I should expect nothing less from the star student."

Sesshomaru refused to rise to the bait... much. "Allowing oneself to be tardy is inexcusable. I made a commitment to be here at three-thirty when we agreed to that time."

Inuyasha let out a long, gusty sigh. "Geez, you're wound tight. I'm surprised you can sit down with that huge stick up your ass. Well, whatever. Come in, I guess."

Inuyasha stepped back into his apartment and held the door open for Sesshomaru to follow, which he did. From the first glance, he could tell it was of a decent size, rather neat and tidy. With the stark white walls and the gadgetry he could see around, it looked more like a single man's apartment than a family home, though. While Sesshomaru privately admitted to a small bit of curiosity, he suppressed it.

"You have a nice home," he said instead, falling back on habit.

The look Inuyasha gave him told him the hanyou was more than aware it was meaningless pleasantries, but he shrugged and went along with it. "Thanks. It's nothing special, but it's comfortable enough."

"Are your parents not home?" This would be easier and quicker if he didn't have to introduce himself and make pleasantries with anyone else. Besides, he didn't really want to see a happy family dangled in front of his face right now when his own had derailed so abruptly.

"What? Oh. Right. I live here on my own. I convinced my dad to let me have my own place about six months ago... privacy and all, you know? He agreed quickly enough, though... I think he was fine with the idea of getting me out of his hair."

Sesshomaru glanced around again. He bachelor pad feel made a lot more sense now, as did the stark white walls. He couldn't really picture Inuyasha taking the time to decorate his own home. The only thing out of place was the tidiness. Inuyasha struck him more as the type to let things land where he left them once he was done with them.

"You want something to drink? I got some soft drinks, I think maybe there's some coffee leftover if that's more your thing."

The coffee sounded good, but he resisted. He'd already loaded up on caffeine to keep him awake at work. Any more would be pushing it. He didn't particularly want anything else, either, but politeness dictated he accept regardless.

Inuyasha tossed him a can of coke on his way back into the living room, then lowered himself into an armchair in a comfortable sprawl. Sesshomaru lowered himself onto the leather sofa and took polite sips of his drink. For long moments of silence, they sat like that, until Sesshomaru could no longer stand it. He didn't have the luxury of wasting time.

"Are we waiting for someone?" he finally asked.

Inuyasha looked up from his can. "No."

Sesshomaru frowned. "I have somewhere to be, so in that case, let's cut to the chase. Do you have some method of obtaining the answers to tests beforehand?"

"No..."

"Then what is it? I don't have time to play around here. I'm risking running late already."

Inuyasha drummed his claws on the outside of his can, almost hesitating. Sesshomaru's frown deepened.

"Well... the thing is... I don't actually cheat. That was the scret."

All Sesshomaru could think to say was... "What?"

"I don't cheat," Inuyasha repeated, oddly defensive. "Never have."

"That's impossible. How else are you passing these exams?"

"Same as you do," the hanyou said, his tone getting testy as he glared at Sesshomaru. "I read the books and then I know the answers."

"But you never pay attention in class," the youkai insisted, entirely unable to believe this for even a second. It made absolutely no sense. The person sitting before him was a moron; he'd proven that time and time again. "You never study."

Inuyasha shrugged, though he was still clearly on the defensive. "Not until right before. If we have a test, I go over everything the night before, like a refresher. I've never needed to do more than that."

For several moments, Sesshomaru just stared at the hanyou with his mouth slightly agape. Inuyasha really expected him to believe this? Everyone _knew_ he cheated, so why was he being so obstinate about admitting it? Didn't Inuyasha realise how much it hurt his pride to have to sink this low? Or had he invited him here just for his own entertainment and had never planned on telling him the truth in the first place?

Sesshomaru balled his free hand into a fist. "So you're not going to be honest with me? You're expecting me to believe this instead?"

Inuyasha snorted at him. "Look, if you don't wanna believe it, no skin off my back. You asked a question, I gave you the answer. If you don't like that answer, it's not my problem."

Sesshomaru put down the drink he'd barely touched and stood up. "This has been a complete waste of my time."

"It was no picnic for me, either," Inuyasha muttered into his can.

Sesshomaru bit his tongue on the verbal lashing he wanted to give and instead said stiffly: "I'll show myself out."

He barely heard Inuyasha's grunt of acknowledgement, covering the floor to the front door in ground-eating strides. He almost slammed the door behind him and hit the stars at a dead run, too impatient to wait for the lift, he was so angry.

How dare Inuyasha do something so vindictive. Especially after he'd confessed he needed help when he'd not planned to tell anyone. He knew their relationship had never been friendly, but did Inuyasha really hate him that much? He'd had no idea.

It made him worry about what Inuyasha might do from this point. Would he spread it around the school that he was struggling? He didn't need any speculation circling him right now...

Well, if that happened, he'd just have to deny it. A few well-aimed glares would quell the most curious and any rumours would die down quickly enough. There was nothing he could do about it right now, so he focused instead on hurrying to work

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Sesshomaru, things just aren't going his way right now... :/ Hopefully it'll get better!
> 
> Hope everyone's had a good Easter :)


	3. Chapter 3

The drive to school the next morning was almost unbearably tense. Not only had he taken to keeping a paranoid eye on the metre of his gas-guzzling car, he was preparing himself for the unwanted attention Inuyasha was sure to throw his way. It would be a setback in his efforts to keep a low profile, but he could weather that storm. It would just be a huge annoyance he really didn't need. He fervently wished he hadn't tried to find a quick solution with the hanyou when he was fully aware he couldn't be relied on.

He arrived precisely on time to class and walked in calmly. Inuyasha wouldn't grace them with his presence for at least half an hour, so he had time to be as relaxed as it was possible to be for him these days. The teacher was a little late herself that morning, so he took out his books and crammed ten minutes of study in before class began; he was at the point where he was stealing every possible minute he could in an effort to keep his head above the surface.

Inuyasha strolled in almost an hour late, yawning and looking as scruffy as if he'd slept in his uniform. He fell gracelessly into his seat at the back of the class while giving a half-hearted excuse to the teacher about the traffic being a menace. She wasn't buying it, but it would have made her an idiot if she had, seeing as it was one of a few reasons Inuyasha gave for being late practically every day.

The lesson was over so soon after that that Sesshomaru wondered why Inuyasha had even bothered coming to first class. He hadn't even opened his textbook; instead, he'd spent the ten minutes of class with his head on his desk. Apparently, he'd had a long night, doing gods knew what.

But as the morning dragged on, Inuyasha made no attempt to spill his secret to anyone. No one whispered behind his back. In fact, the hanyou seemed content to alternate between dozing off and using an elastic band to flick small bits of paper around the classroom. Sesshomaru casually allowed himself to relax, and grudgingly admitted that maybe he had judged his classmate a little harshly, assuming he would just spread malicious gossip.

The relaxation didn't last long, however. In the class just before lunch, their teacher informed them that they would have a quiz the next day on Ancient Greece. Panic set in as Sesshomaru realised he had to work and would have no time to study properly. To make matters worse, this was a class he had been letting slide a bit as he juggled his priorities and deemed it less essential than others.

He fretted over his situation all through lunch and his afternoon lessons, and all the way to his locker at the end of the day. He was so absorbed in his worry that he didn't immediately notice someone calling his name with increasing impatience. Annoyed himself, he turned and snapped at them, only realising after the fact that he was staring into the face of a very angry girlfriend.

He had thought this before, but with her short fuse and temper, Kagura would be best suited as a fire demon. More so than wind, certainly. Or perhaps poison, he thought tiredly, as he was forced to suffer through the venomous tongue lashing she gave him about disrespect, all the while thinking only of getting away from her as fast as possible so that he could go home, get changed and head to work.

He drove home angry, speeding a little out of sheer frustration whenever he hit a stretch of straight road. He didn't know how he was meant to handle this. If he got anything less than an A, it was going to send up red flags. The faculty were apparently watching him now, he had to remember that.

With no time for a shower because of Kagura, he just stripped out of one uniform and donned another in record time, stomping out of the house again without even bothering to inform his mother of his plans. It wasn't like she cared at this point, and he didn't want to see her anyway. She was the root of all his problems right now.

He couldn't help but think of what Inuyasha had said the day before. Could it really be true? If it really was, it could help take the pressure off immensely. With his grades secured, he could focus instead on working and doing his best to make sure his future tuition was paid. Even better, it wouldn't even be cheating. It would just be studying with a classmate... perfectly normal social behaviour.

Resolved, he made up his mind to test Inuyasha somehow.

~*~

He didn't have any time to rethink his decision, so he went straight to Inuyasha's after work. It was 8:30 when he managed to slip inside with another tenant and went straight up to Inuyasha's floor. Even from outside the apartment, he could hear the raucous sound of guitars and drums pouring from some sort of sound system, a tribute to Inuyasha's abysmal taste in music. He had to knock very loudly in order for the hanyou's sensitive ears to hear him.

The music abruptly shut off, to a chorus of groans from inside. That made Sesshomaru pause. Inuyasha had company? He hadn't expected that; hadn't even thought of the possibility, actually. A rather stupid oversight on his part, but he thought he could be forgiven for having tunnel vision where his grades were concerned. For a moment, he thought about turning and leaving, but Inuyasha was already calling out that he was coming and besides, he would be able to sniff out who had come to his door late at night. He was stuck now.

Instead of showing any of his insecurities, Sesshomaru stood with his back straight and his head held high when Inuyasha opened the door. He was wearing a white vest shirt and a pair of black sweats, and he leaned against the door frame with his arms folded, one eyebrow lifted. Sesshomaru took that as an indication that he was meant to start. So be it.

"I came here to talk about what happened yesterday," he explained, deciding to skip the pleasantries. Any exchange of hellos sounded awkward in his head, which meant they'd be cripplingly painful if spoken out loud.

"And I'm supposed to drop what I'm doing because you want to have a chat? When you're the one who acted like an ass?"

"Ooh, what happened?" the ningen in Inuyasha's apartment asked, his eyes sparkling mischievously. "Is this guy the latest notch on your bedpost, Inuyasha?"

Sesshomaru felt terribly affronted by this insinuation. Him, debase himself by sleeping with Inuyasha? A man? His eyes flashed in the direction of the human in question, but Inuyasha beat him before he could say anything venomous.

"Geez, Miroku, can't you keep your mind out of the gutter for more than thirty seconds? I don't fuck everyone I see, y'know."

"Cut him some slack," the one Sesshomaru recognised as the infamous wolf youkai said. "Poor Miroku hasn't gotten any in a while now."

"Yeah, well, if he wasn't such a fucking lech, maybe some girl would let him get close enough to get a leg over."

Rather than seeming annoyed, Miroku just let out a put upon sigh. "I've told you, it's an affliction. I simply can't control it."

Inuyasha looked over his shoulder and snorted. "You mean like that time you tried to say your hand was cursed after grabbing that girl's ass?"

Koga, the wolf, let out a bawdy laugh. "I remember that. Her boyfriend chased you for five blocks."

Now the human looked sullen. "If I'd known she had a slab of meat of a boyfriend nearby, I'd have gone after someone else. Am I supposed to be clairvoyant?"

"I think you're supposed to keep your hands to yourself... at least until after you've asked her name," Koga pointed out.

Miroku just shrugged. Sensing this could go on for a while if he left it alone, and not desiring to hear anymore about the filthy exploits of the hanyou's friends besides, Sesshomaru cleared his throat to get Inuyasha's attention again.

"Look, I realise this is perhaps not the most opportune time for it, but --"

"All right, lemme cut you off there," Inuyasha interrupted. "That sentence sounds like the start of a really long speech and I really don't care. Fuck it; come in, go away, do whatever you like."

Inuyasha turned away from the door then, leaving it open, and Sesshomaru took a deep breath to steel himself before following him in. If he had to put up with Koga and Miroku as well, this was going to be a long, painful experience.

He settled himself in an armchair away from the group, and declined Inuyasha's offer of alcohol. He felt a pressing urge to point out that it was a school night and they shouldn't be drinking, but he managed to hold himself back, just barely. An uncomfortable silence followed until the ningen got to his feet and stretched.

"We should probably go, Koga," he said, glancing at the wolf. Koga was in the middle of swigging from his bottle, so he waggled it up and down in lieu of a nod of agreement. Apparently, this was enough for Miroku, who turned back to Inuyasha.

"What? It's only early."

"Yeah, but you need to talk, right?"

"We can come hang out tomorrow or somethin'," Koga added, putting his now empty bottle down on the coffee table. "No big."

Inuyasha blew out a breath and glanced at Sesshomaru, then shrugged. "All right. See you tomorrow." He made no attempt to get up and see them out as his friends said their goodbyes and left, closing the door behind them. He just leaned back on his sofa and stretched his legs out.

Sesshomaru didn't have time to hang around, so he decided to get things moving again. But he wanted Inuyasha's cooperation, so he had to address the current situation before moving onto more pressing matters. "Were they here for something important?"

"Hm? Oh, no. They just studied a bit, then hung out. Usual."

Sesshomaru lifted an eyebrow. Perhaps this was the truth to Inuyasha's success at school. "Studied? With you?"

"More like under my supervision."

"You were tutoring them?" Sesshomaru couldn't help sounding skeptical.

Inuyasha chose to ignore said skepticism. "Not really. They studied, and if they got stuck, they asked me how to figure it out."

"That's tutoring."

The hanyou shrugged carelessly. "Whatever. What's it matter, anyway?"

No point beating around the bush now. He didn't have the time. "There's a history test tomorrow."

"There is?" Inuyasha said, seeming surprised. Small wonder, seeing as he'd barely paid attention all day, as far as Sesshomaru could tell. "And I suppose you suddenly want my help now?"

"If you prove you can actually help... yes."

The hanyou raised an eyebrow at him. "For someone asking for a favour, you sure do want me to jump through a lot of hoops."

"I can't afford to be jerked around," Sesshomaru said seriously. "I have precious little time to study as it is. The test is tomorrow."

Inuyasha sighed, scratching his head. "Fine. Just study like you would normally, and if you find something you don't get, ask."

Sesshomaru frowned; that didn't sound very promising, especially as it wouldn't be any different from what he did normally. It would only mean he was doing it somewhere he didn't feel comfortable, and he'd wasted precious time coming all the way here and going through the debacle he had to endure to get to this point. Yet if he left, he'd waste even more time going home, and he still had to sleep at some point. He was better off staying here at this point, even if Inuyasha turned out to be as useless as he feared.

Reluctantly, he agreed.

Two hours later, Inuyasha was sprawled lazily across his sofa reading a graphic novel. Sesshomaru sat on the floor, his textbooks spread out across the coffee table in place of the empty pizza box and half a dozen beer bottles of earlier, scribbling furiously in his textbook. Somehow, with his attention split between talking and reading, the hanyou was rattling off fact after fact about Ancient Greece, from the mythical pantheon of the gods to the workings of the ordinary commoner of the time, and everything he asked about between while Sesshomaru's head whipped back and forth between checking his work and gaping at Inuyasha in pure shock.

Maybe, just maybe, this would work out after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are things finally looking up for Sesshomaru? :O
> 
> I'm so glad I read through this before posting just to check for typos... I'd left a bunch of notes in from when I was writing it, so there were parts if that just... didn't make sense at all. Including dialogue written in third person. xD
> 
> Also, you guys should all go check out this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZxBEzSNqJ4 It's a band called Rixton, they have two singles out currently, though that link is a pretty cool cover/response to Taylor Swift's I Knew You Were Trouble. I like it a lot, so I figured I'd share. ^^
> 
> Hope you guys are doin' great, and I love you all.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

 

When Sesshomaru got his test results back three days later, he was able to breathe a much-needed sigh of relief. He managed to scrape an A, if only barely; still, it was a big improvement on his last score and much better than he'd expected. It seemed Inuyasha really did know what he was talking about... at least as far as history was concerned, anyway.

He'd have to test the hanyou on some other subjects to make sure he was really able to help... but if it turned out he was, it would lift a huge weight off his shoulders, provided his sometimes ornery classmate would continue to be cooperative. It might be wise to try and come up with some sort of incentive - positive or negative, he didn't care, so long as it worked - to ensure he remained so.

School ended with him feeling cautiously positive about the near future; for the first time in a long time, it felt like he had something of a handle on things, and he was revelling in it. To make sure his good mood remained, he took the long way off school grounds, the extra time taken worth it to avoid his girlfriend.

Kagura was still hung up on how he'd blown her off a few days ago and had hinted strongly at lunch that she wanted some sort of reparation, tonight. He'd played dumb at the time, but he had no doubt she'd pounce and sink her claws in if given the opportunity, and so he took the considerably easier way out.

It seemed the universe was out to get him regardless, however, as the little bubble he'd surrounded himself with burst viciously almost as soon as he entered his home. In the entrance hall, a new painting of superior quality was being carefully arranged to hang on the wall opposite the door. It was lifesize - the frame had to be taller than the front door it was carried through - and of his mother, resplendant in furs and glittering jewels. Sesshomaru's stomach fell right through the floor.

He walked woodenly through the rooms - seemingly getting emptier by the day, as he discreetly sold things to keep them afloat - of their house until he found her in the living room, stretched out on a chaise lounge. In her hand, she swilled a glass of dark red liquid that probably cost a month's wages for that much alone without counting the entire bottle. He felt his hands clench into fists and fought to take some calming breaths before he could speak.

"Mother," he said tightly.

"Hm? Oh, Sesshomaru, darling," she said dreamily; clearly, this was far from her first glass of expensive alcohol today. "How was school?"

Sesshomaru ignored this; his mother hardly cared what he was doing, so long as he wasn't causing her embarrassment. It had been the same for as long as he could remember, and hadn't stung for many a year now. 

"Mother, where did the new portrait come from?"

"It's beautiful, isn't it? Suki showed me a portrait she'd commissioned and it was so gorgeous, I knew I had to have one myself."

His hands clenched again. Calm, he told himself. Remain calm. It was a very large portrait... it would have taken a significant amount of time to complete. It was entirely possible his mother had commissioned this piece before his father left with everything and it was already paid for. It had to be that way; there was no money left to pay an artist with.

"How long ago was this? Surely a painting that size would take some time."

His mother smiled as she sipped from her glass. "That's the beauty of it, darling. I only commissioned the piece a month ago. Isn't that extraordinary? Such talent he has. He agreed to paint it as quickly as he possibly could for an extra fee of a few thousand. Isn't that wonderful of him?"

His mother prattled on, but Sesshomaru didn't hear the rest. A strange ringing had begun in his ears as he processed exactly what she had said. A month ago... Just after his father had left. At a time when he had been recovering from the shock and the betrayal, trying to wrap his head around the fact that there was _nothing_ left, trying to get his affairs in order by himself because his mother wasn't of any use to him, combing through their accounts to see if there was anything left that could help them stay afloat... At that time, when they'd been at their lowest, directionless, she had spent what little remained of their fortune on some pointless display of self-indulgence.

"How can you be so selfish?" he snapped, voice lashing out like a whip.

Cut off mid-sentence, his mother jerked in absolute shock at his tone, one he'd never used with her before, leaving her staring at him in blank silence for a few moments. But her pride soon resurfaced, and had her pale golden eyes flashing angrily as she sat up, slamming her glass on the table in front of her as she did so. The overly-priced liquor splashed over the rim and was ignored.

"How dare you speak to me that way?" she demanded, her voice sharp and cold as a shard of ice as she climbed to her feet and drew herself up to her impressive height until she was almost eye to eye with him.

"How dare I?" he returned, seething, his voice rising with every word until he was shouting. "How dare _you_? Do you have any understanding of the situation we're in, mother? Is it able to penetrate through this thick shell of self-indulgence? Are you so used to being able to have whatever you want that you're entirely unable to fathom a life without it? The money is _gone_ , mother; there's nothing left, and you spent the last of what we had on that ridiculous, self-aggrandising picture now disgracing our hall. Do you have any comprehension at all for what you've done?"

Her hand raised and lashed out at his face; another time, he may have let it connect rather than lay a hand on her, but no longer. He didn't see her as a person deserving of his respect anymore; in truth, he didn't really even see her as a mother. He caught her by the wrist in a grip tight enough to make her yelp before she snatched her hand away.

"Get out of my house," she all but hissed at him instead. "You get out right now."

"If you don't stop what you're doing, it won't be your house anymore, or mine. Don't you realise that? We cannot afford to spend money on _anything_ but the essentials, and yet I find out you're wasting what precious little we have on frivolities. You disgust me. Next time, think about the consequences of your actions before trying to keep up with all the other shallow socialites."

With that, he turned on his heel and strode toward his bedroom to grab his uniform, and left immediately after. The last thing he heard on his way out of the house was the sound of her glass smashing against a wall.

He tried not to think about how much that was worth as he hit the street, unable to even afford to go for a drive to calm him down. Every drop of petrol was priceless now, a commodity not to be used recklessly, and so he had only the forward momentum of a brisk walk to help him cool off.

It worked, to a degree. His blood was no longer pumping, echoing in his ears, and his hands weren't clenched so hard in his pockets that his knuckles ached, but he had by no means settled. He was still walking fast enough that he was close to running, and he shouldered his way past anyone who didn't move out of his way in time, ignoring the shouted insults that followed him.

He carried on that way for almost an hour, letting his feet lead him wherever they wanted, before he stopped to look around and notice where he was. It unsettled him to realise that he was about two blocks away from Inuyasha's apartment, even more so to realise that he was vaguely tempted to go there early.

He wanted someone to vent to, he decided... but that person was not going to be Inuyasha. They weren't friends, they merely had a business arrangement and that was it. There was not and would never be anything more between them.

He checked his watch and, after a moment of internal debate, decided it was late enough to justify heading to work. He'd doubtless be early, but perhaps he'd be able to get some of his duties finished before he even began his shift. After his afternoon, he could use a more sedate working environment.

Settled on a course of action, he backtracked to the nearest bus stop to wait.

\---

Later that evening, he was much calmer than he had been when he left for work. To his relief, it had been a quiet and uneventful shift, enabling him to slowly wind down and distract himself with the routine. By the time he arrived at Inuyasha's for his study session, he was almost in his usual state of mind and was ready to throw himself into school work.

A mere forty-five minutes later and Sesshomaru was reeling from a new horror: Inuyasha truly was intelligent. Not only that, he could very well be the most intelligent of the two of them. It was like someone had suddenly told him the sky was green and expected him to believe it; it just didn't compute.

Yet the evidence was right here before him. He had decided to start off the evening with an impromptu quiz for the hanyou: he'd picked up textbooks at random, spanning all subjects, and asked him questions. Without little to no dithering, Inuyasha had answered every single one correctly, pulling the answers out of his head with such ease that Sesshomaru was left equal parts awed and horrified.

He found it incredibly difficult to reconcile this with the guy who sat at the back of class throwing peanut M&Ms in the air, catching them in his mouth, until he leaned back too far one time and ended up toppling to the floor.

But if Sesshomaru remembered correctly, he caught the M&M.

"...and then they went to Mars and met an alien called Dweebok --"

"What?"

Inuyasha grinned as Sesshomaru focused on him properly again. "Just making sure you were listening. You were staring."

Sesshomaru ignored this, clearing his throat and shifting in his seat. "Why is it you never do well in school?" he demanded.

The hanyou shrugged lazily. "I pass my exams; that's good enough, right?"

"But you could do so much better," the youkai insisted. "You could be a straight A student."

"And be a goody two shoes like you? No thanks."

Sesshomaru frowned. "You could get straight As and still skip school and get drunk and have wild sexual encounters."

One of Inuyasha's eyebrows raised. "Where did you get that from?"

"Everyone's heard the stories about your... escapades."

Inuyasha suddenly looked amused, sitting up from where he'd been slouched across his sofa. "What stories?"

"Do you want the full or abridged version?" the youkai asked dryly.

The hanyou laughed lightly. "Full version. Obviously."

Sesshomaru sighed, setting down his pen in favour of rolling his shoulders while he spoke. "It's taken as general knowledge around the school that you use your money to get into clubs you shouldn't be allowed to, that you get drunk, get into brawls nightly, and that you're wildly promiscuous. I don't care to go into anymore detail than that about any of those particular points, but let me assure you the full versions are... colourful."

Inuyasha was grinning from ear to ear now, his golden eyes practically dancing with glee. "I certainly get around for a high school student, huh? And wouldn't you like to know how much of that is true?"

Sesshomaru, correctly guessing that answering in the affirmative would lead to a ridiculously long tangent, declined to take the bait. "That aside," he said instead, "you distracted me from my point. We were discussing your grades."

"That I did," the hanyou replied blandly, "but you don't have time for anything else but studying, right?"

Sesshomaru considered arguing and getting back to his original point, but he had to concede that his classmate was correct. He should be focusing on worrying about his own grades, not those of someone who painfully obviously would never need his help. Reluctantly, he let it go and turned back to his work.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

 

A few weeks had passed since the debacle with his mother's indulgent spending, and things had settled into a kind of calm in Sesshomaru's life. With Inuyasha's help, he was managing to keep control of his school life and maintain a good average in his grades. He was able to keep up in class without feeling like he was scrambling for understanding, fretting about how little he'd managed to study.

He admitted, albeit grudgingly, that he owed the hanyou a great deal. Even if Inuyasha brushed it off, he had by no means been obligated to help his classmate, especially when one considered how at odds they'd always been with each other. Sesshomaru could swallow his pride enough to be grateful for it... even if he never admitted it to Inuyasha himself.

Perhaps that was the reason things were relaxing between them. That wasn't to say they were suddenly best friends, but more and more, Sesshomaru found himself just... talking to Inuyasha. About all kinds of things he'd never before imagined discussing with him. It was getting easier and more comfortable to just... be around him. He no longer felt irritated by Inuyasha's mere presence as he'd done just a short month ago.

Honestly, he was a bit concerned about the whole situation. Did that mean they were becoming friends? Or was he relaxing because he felt like he could rely on Inuyasha now to help see him through this rough patch? He honestly couldn't say.

The bell rang just then, and Sesshomaru resolved to think about that later. Now, it was time for lunch, and some study time on his own if he could manage to find a quiet spot for it and avoid Kagura.

He packed up his geography textbooks and joined the queue slowly spilling out of the door and, to his dread, spotted Kagura clearly waiting for him with her gaggle of friends. It was petty of him, but he opted for pretending not to have seen her, merging with the flow of students down the hall, only to have his elbow caught as he was about to make his escape. Surprised, he turned around to see the face of the person raising so much confusion in his life: Inuyasha.

He allowed himself to be pulled aside, but extricated his arm quickly. The last thing he needed was for people to start looking at them and alert Kagura to his presence... and a quick look round ensured him that was exactly what had happened. He couldn't help but sigh.

"What is it, Inuyasha?" Sesshomaru asked, slightly dejectedly, already seeing his study time slipping through his fingers.

"It's about tonight," Inuyasha explained, either not noticing or plain ignoring Sesshomaru's tone. "I can't study with you. My dad called this morning... mum's decided I'm not seeing them enough since I moved into the apartment, so she's insisting we all go to dinner tonight."

Sesshomaru's expression must have betrayed how he felt about his news, because Inuyasha quickly continued.

"I know, I know, I tried to get out of it. I don't want to go. But since dad still pays my rent, I can't exactly tell him to get lost. So... yeah. Have to take a rain check 'til tomorrow night."

It wasn't ideal news, honestly, but it was manageable. He was caught up enough that he could manage to study on his own for an evening. He'd done that plenty before he discovered how useful Inuyasha was, so he was sure he could do it again. It was just a shame to lose having someone right there who could quickly explain anything he didn't understand.

Sesshomaru paused, and sighed again. He was starting to rely on Inuyasha too much, wasn't he?

"All right, that's understandable," he said. "I shall see you at school tomorrow, then. Enjoy your dinner this evening."

"Yeah. Thanks." Inuyasha didn't sound too enthused. "Oh, one more thing," he added, as Sesshomaru turned to go.

"Yes?"

"I think your girlfriend thinks I'm hot. Just so you know."

For a moment, Sesshomaru's brain stuttered. Kagura? Attracted to Inuyasha? Over him? No, no, that wasn't possible. Inuyasha was mistaken. Or baiting him. One of the two.

He frowned at the hanyou. "Kagura is not attracted to you."

"Oh, yeah? Then why does she always look at my ass when I come talk to you?"

"She's lip-reading," Sesshomaru returned without missing a beat.

Inuyasha laughed. "Ouch. That's just rude."

Before Sesshomaru could tell him it was also well-deserved, Inuyasha's phone blasted out some sort of aggressive guitar solo and he cursed as he fumbled to pull it out of his pocket. He checked the caller ID.

"Ah, that's Koga. I gotta run. See you tomorrow, yeah?"

Without waiting for an answer, Inuyasha took off running down the hallway, in the opposite direction of the main flow of people traffic, leaving Sesshomaru shaking his head after him as he watched him dodge and weave. No matter how he looked at it, he simply couldn't reconcile the two different sides of Inuyasha.

Deciding to put all that aside for now, he checked his watch. There was still plenty of time left to sneak in a decent amount of studying. A quick glance at Kagura showed she was giggling with her group of friends, and Sesshomaru seized the opportunity to melt back into the crowd, successfully making an escape.

\---

Sesshomaru hated this job. The hours were long and, while the pay was nice enough to make up for that, it certainly didn't counter having to serve the kind of people who had not long ago been his social peers. He resented the way they looked down their noses at him, when they'd all be first in line to schmooze and rub shoulders with him if they had any idea who he was, and he'd certainly developed greater sympathy for the working class than he'd ever had before.

If - no, _when_ \- he attained wealth and position again, he was certain he would not be, to borrow a phrase from Inuyasha, such an ass.

Sesshomaru sighed, and turned toward the kitchens. Now wasn't the time to think of such things; his shift at the restaurant was almost over, and he still had to hurry home and squeeze in as much studying as he could. Even if he couldn't spend the evening bouncing questions off Inuyasha whenever he needed, he could still make some decent progress on his own. He hadn't fallen so far behind that he was entirely useless.

He hadn't taken more than five steps before a voice called out behind him: "Oi, Sesshomaru!" A horribly, terrifyingly familiar voice.

Going ramrod straight, tension flooding his body, Sesshomaru turned. Sure enough, strolling towards him in a charcoal grey suit with red shirt, no tie and top button undone, was Inuyasha. His stomach dropped to his shoes.

The older youkai did not have the capacity to be shocked at how odd it was to see Inuyasha in a suit, nor at how surprisingly well he cleaned up. All he could feel was the thread of mortification running through him now that his secret was out.

Inuyasha, seemingly entirely oblivious to the minor scene he'd caused in a very upscale restaurant, drew up alongside Sesshomaru, a lopsided grin on his face.

"You're here, too, huh? What are the chances? Dinner with your folks, like me?"

Sesshomaru blinked. Inuyasha hadn't noticed his clothing wasn't a suit, but a uniform? For once, he appreciated, even fully welcomed this side of the hanyou. If he could just excuse himself, he could get away and Inuyasha wouldn't be the wiser...

"My dad gives me an earful earlier," Inuyasha continued, denying him the opportunity to make an excuse and disappear. "Told me I'd better not be late, but who's the only one here on time? It'll be my mother's fault. It took her an hour just to choose an outfit sometimes, let alone all the rest of the fluffing women do..."

The hanyou trailed off into a sigh, and Sesshomaru seized his chance.

"Inuyasha, I have to go --"

"Sesshomaru?" came the second interruption, and he winced as he recognised the voice as belonging to his supervisor. "Is something wrong?"

"No, there isn't, so --"

"No, nothing wrong, sir," Sesshomaru put in quickly, interrupting and turning firmly away from Inuyasha, correctly guessing he was about to say something less than complimentary. "This is just a... a friend." He ignored how he could suddenly feel Inuyasha staring pointedly at him.

His supervisor, a tall, blonde youkai, frowned down his nose at the pair of them - another thing Sesshomaru hated about this job. "You may have finished your shift, Sesshomaru, but that doesn't mean you can chat to your friends here. We have an image to uphold. Wrap it up quickly."

With that, the supervisor glided away to go and attend to some patrons at a table nearby. Sesshomaru settled for beaming a murderous gaze after him over bludgeoning him to death with the tray he'd been carrying.

"You... work here?"

Sesshomaru's tension swamped him again, his neck all but creaking as he defiantly held his head high, turning back to the hanyou.

"Yes," he admitted reluctantly, voice tight.

Inuyasha appeared genuinely surprised. "Doesn't your family have more money than God? What's going on?"

Sesshomaru's jaw clenched, painfully. He had no desire to discuss his family situation here - or anywhere, for that matter. It was his own, strictly private business, and he didn't want Inuyasha, or anyone else, prying.

"I have to go," he said flatly, but as he turned to leave, Inuyasha caught his arm in a firm grip.

"Here, take my keys," the hanyou said, pressing them into Sesshomaru's hand while the older youkai looked askance at him. "I've clearly said something I shouldn't have; my bad, ok? Go to my place and chill out, watch TV or study or whatever. I'll be back in a few hours."

"Why would I do that? The only purpose for going to your apartment is to study with you. Without you there, it has no merit."

"Look, I've been getting the feeling for a while now that things aren't great at home. You never look thrilled to be leaving and I know you still don't like me enough to miss me. Didn't want to say anything because it's not my business, but... I noticed. I may be wrong, but if I'm not, you can hang there until you've calmed down and shit. Or if I am wrong, you can just drop the keys off and go home. It's up to you."

Sesshomaru looked at the keys in his hands. On one hand, the idea of not having to go home to his mother, and to the house itself that was fast becoming a reminder of what he no longer had, was very tempting. On the other, being with the hanyou, who clearly had questions he didn't want to answer, wasn't much of an improvement over his mother.

"Ah, I think my parents are here, so I've gotta go meet them. Look... just do whatever you want. And I'll see you later, yeah?"

Sesshomaru finally nodded. "Fine," was all he said, not really sure which part he was agreeing to, if any. He hadn't made a decision yet when Inuyasha waved and started weaving through the tables.

There was no point hanging around here, at any rate. He could make his decision on the go. Sesshomaru resumed his journey to the kitchens and beyond, to get changed just in time to catch the bus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sesshomaru... I'm sorry. I'm being so mean to you, huh? D:

**Author's Note:**

> Well, here it is, guys. I posted polls in various places, and you all voted for me to post the new series, and this is it. As I said before, it's modern, and as I have a weird boner for high school fics... that's what you get. xD
> 
> Sorry it took a while to get this out after the poll and everything; I've been ill, and there may be an issue with my cat's health as well, so lots of reasons to be distracted from posting this. I was going to put it up this weekend, but decided today was better as this weekend is my birthday and I have no idea what I'll be doing.
> 
> I have three other written chapters for this, plus I'm working on chapter five right now... I also kinda know what I want to do with this, in general, so hopefully I'll be able to keep churning it out for a little while. At the very least, you guys will have stuff to read for the next month or so. ^^
> 
> Hope you enjoy. <3


End file.
